NZMA reaction knee jerk

29 July 2010

The New Zealand Medical Association’s negative reaction to pharmacy’s Anti-coagulation Management Service pilot is knee jerk, says Pharmaceutical Society president Elizabeth Plant.

On the 6pm bulletin last night, NZMA chairman Peter Foley told One News the move to allow 15 community pharmacies to manage warfarin therapy for patients is risky.

“Patients don’t usually have one problem when they’re on anti-coagulation therapy, they have multiple problems and the whole complex picture needs to be considered by the centre of the team, which is the general practice doctor and nurse,” Dr Foley said.

However, Ms Plant says she believes had she been able to brief Dr Foley about the pilot she could have gone a long way towards alleviating his fears.

GPs will sign standing orders for their patients and there are full communication protocols in place, Ms Plant says. Patient’s INR levels will be kept well within safe parameters and there are conservative levels at which the patient will be referred back to their GP.

“The pilot sites will be required to develop relationships with GPs. This is such an exciting project because this is what pharmacy needs to be doing – integrating with GPs,” Ms Plant says.

Ian McMichael of Hamilton’s Pharmacy 547, who has successfully been delivering the service for over a year, says the most important thing is how successfully the programme works for patients.

“The figures speak for themselves. We are achieving better results for the patients than what they were getting previously. And we are also achieving better results than GP practices are using similar systems. I was able to show [health minister] Tony Ryall this.”

Like Ms Plant, Mr McMichael believes the pilot is hugely exciting for pharmacy.

“It’s the best thing that’s happened in 10 years.” Read how Pharmacy 547 won the supreme prize at this year’s Pharmacy Awards for their successful trial of the project here.

In a media statement Tony Ryall says extending the project to pharmacy pilot sites is all about convenience for patients.

“They'll be seen, tested, and get their medication, all by their community pharmacist, without having to go to their GP as much."

It allows greater use of pharmacists’ skills in the community and frees up GPs to see other patients, Mr Ryall says.

The 15 pilot sites will be established from October and there will be an evaluation before the end of 2011.

 

Submit Comment

<< Back